Tag Archive for art quilts based on dreams

“An Image from Beyond” Completed

Small, contemporary beaded art quilt, "An Image From Beyond"Nancy Smeltzer, MFA

In an earlier posting, I wrote about how the image for this small, beaded art quilt was given to me during Dreamtime, or that State of Being when you are in between half awake and half asleep. The original image that is printed on the fabric and the choices made to embellish this small art quilt, were all orchestrated by an amazing sound and vibrational healer, Brian Baker, who drowned in Hawaii a few weeks ago. His vibrant energy gave me the original image for the piece, which I quickly jumped up from my dream state and preserved in Photoshop. I then printed it out on fabric, using my ink jet printer, and then used that printed fabric as the background for this piece.

Measuring 10.25″W (26 cm) by 7.5″(19 cm), it is almost completely covered with beading and buttons. I always try and leave a little of the surface fabric showing for future art historians to use when studying the piece. I had wanted to add shells hanging off of the edges, but even the smallest ones that I had were too big, not the right color, or in some way, just didn’t work with the composition.

Detail of small beaded art quilt, "An Image from Beyond"I was however, able to include flat white shell discs along the outer edge of the magenta rectangle. They look exactly like those old white paper reinforcements that you glued around the holes of notebook paper for school assignments that you needed to keep. I attached them with a contrasting blue embroidery floss. Along the outer edge there is a scallop of aqua blue rings that are used in making colorful chain maille. The white “X”s that were so visible in the original print are not quite so neatly outlined, as the beads that I used were a size 8, and so perhaps a little too large for the shapes. Along each of the longer sides is a row of blue, glass stars, as I know that Brian loved to dance and is now dancing among the stars.

Brian was much loved by several communities that he belonged to out in the San Francisco area and will be sorely missed. I’m giving this piece to one of his best friends so that it can be taken to gatherings so that Brian’s energy will always be there with them. Not that you could keep him away, because wherever there’s music and dancing, Brian will be there. I’ve also been “shown” another image that will be used in one of my Transition Portals quilts so keep reading in the next few weeks, as I show pictures of that piece as it unfolds.

Which ways have you used to create a memorial for someone special in your life? Are you recording your thoughts as you created the work, so that they can be passed along with the art work?